Dinh Vu Trang Ngan (L), president of Fulbright University Vietnam, and Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, hold copies of a memorandum of understanding after a signing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, November 7, 2025. Photo: Trong Nhan / Tuoi Tre
Under the memorandum of understanding, the two sides will work together on research, faculty exchanges, joint conferences and interdisciplinary programs in technology, humanities and social sciences, Fulbright University said in a statement.
The partnership aims to link Vietnam's higher education sector with Columbia's global research network and encourage long-term cooperation in education and innovation.
Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, said both institutions plan to establish a Global Vietnam Center at Columbia to promote studies and dialogue on contemporary Vietnam.
Scholars from Fulbright University Vietnam and Columbia University attend a panel discussion in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, November 7, 2025. Photo: Trong Nhan / Tuoi Tre
The project will include a leadership and policy program with Fulbright's School of Public Policy and Management, an AI-based 'Digitizing Vietnam' archive initiative, an arts collaboration program, and summer language and internship opportunities in Vietnam.
The partnership follows an initial education agreement signed in 2022 during a Fulbright-Columbia conference in Ho Chi Minh City.
A panel discussion held after Friday's ceremony focused on the role of higher education and technology in Vietnam's development, with speakers including Thomas Vallely, founding chair of the Fulbright University Vietnam Trust, and Jonathan Pincus, director of Fulbright's School of Public Policy and Management.
